Sunday, February 7, 2010

Spicy Almond Lamb Pot

I couldn't believe how much I enjoyed cooking today. Perhaps I was inspired by the movie "Julie & Julia" which I had just viewed last weekend, or perhaps I miss cooking hearty and meaty stews. Today, I prepared a lamb stew which retains all the taste of the veggies and spices without using heavy cream or butter, which the orignal recipe calls for. Don't get me wrong, I just luuuuve the taste and fragrance of butter, but to make this dish incredibly aromatic, I used a butter-flavoured margarine. My friend Maggie must be laughing right now, as she is reading this because she knows which margarine I'm referring to....

If you can't find any butter-flavoured margarine, you can always use a shred of the real thing and some olive oil.

What's the best thing about preparing this dish? There are only two steps and all ingredients are combined in one large Dutch-oven pot to simmer in less than an hour until it's ready to be served piping hot. You know the dish is ready when a heavenly aroma of this lamb pot dish escapes the oven. I discovered this recipe as I was scanning through my cousin's stack of photocopied recipes. I wish she would remember the name of the book because I really savoured this dish and was hoping that I could find stew recipes like this one.

As meat alternatives, beef or turkey tenderloins can be used.

Preparation time : 20 minutes, Baking time: 45-50 minutes

Recipe "au pif":

2 lbs boneless leg of lamb, cut into 2-inch cubes

1/4 tsp ground coriander

1/4 tsp chili powder

1/4 tsp ground cardomom

1/4 tsp ground cloves

1/2 cup slivered almonds

1/2 cup green lentils, rinsed in strainer

1 1/4 cup hot water

1 large yellow onion, thinly sliced

1/4 tsb cumin seeds

2 tbsp grated fresh ginger

2 tbsp fresh garlic, finely minced

1 bell pepper (red or green), cored, seeded, thinly sliced

2 large tomatoes, puréed in food processor

2 tbsps tomato paste

1 handful fresh coriander, coarsely chopped

1 tbsp butter-flavoured margarine (butter or ghee butter can also be used)

coarse sea-salt, or to taste

black ground pepper to taste

Preheat oven at 450F

In a large bowl, mix the ground coriander, cloves, chili, cardamom and slivered almonds. Mix in the lamb cubes into the spice mixture and make sure to coat each cube with the spices and almonds. Sprinkle about 1/2 tsp of coarse sea salt and pepper, to taste. Set aside.

Grease one large Dutch-oven pot with the margarine or butter.

Throw in the lentils and the hot water.

Add in the slices of onions, the cumin seeds, garlic and ginger. Stir.

Now add in the spiced lamb.

Then lay the slices of bell peppers over the lamb. Sprinkle about 1 tsp of coarse sea salt and pepper, to taste